Business

Muscat: The MSM 30 index closed at 6615.91, up by 0.33 per cent. MSM Shariah Index also closed gained 0.28 per cent at 1045.76 points.

Gulf Investment Services was the most active in terms of volume as well as turnover.

Oman Chlorine was top gainer and closed up by 4.48 per cent at 700 baisas, while Al Izz Islamic Bank, which was the top loser, declined by 2.75 per cent at 106 baisas.

Altogether 1,259 trades were executed in yesterday's session generating a turnover of OMR5.95 million with over 23.01 million shares traded. Out of 47 traded stocks, 29 advanced, five declined and 13 were unchanged. At the close of the session, GCC & Arab investors were net buyers to the tune of OMR789,000 worth of shares. Foreign investors, who were the net sellers, sold shares worth OMR414,000, by Omani investors at OMR375,000.

Construction Material Industries was the only loser and dropped by 1.41 per cent to close at 0.071.

Services Sector Index closed at 3448.10 points, up by 0.19 per cent. OIFC, Al Jazeira Services, Oman Telecom, Sohar Power and Renaissance Services increased by 1.20 per cent, 0.64 per cent, 0.51 per cent, 0.35 per cent and 0.31 per cent respectively.

Emerging stocks fall Emerging-market stocks fell for a second day as exporters slumped on concern United States demand may falter. Indonesian shares led declines and the rupiah reached a four-year low.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, which got two-thirds of sales from America last year, sank to a one-week low. Bank Rakyat Indonesia and Bank Mandiri slid more than 4 per cent on concern the central bank will raise interest rates. Egis Nyrt jumped the most on record in Budapest after receiving a buyout offer. The rupiah lost 0.9 per cent versus the dollar. Turkey's lira and South Korea's won fell at least 0.4 per cent.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index retreated 0.4 per cent to 1,006.70 in Hong Kong, headed for the lowest level in a week. A report yesterday showed US consumer confidence slumped to a four-month low, while concerns over budget talks that risk a federal government shutdown curbed risk-taking. A Bloomberg National Poll showed Americans are losing faith in an economic recovery.

"The debate about the US debt ceiling and other issues in the country certainly contributed to the volatility in the market yesterday," Aldo Perkasa, a fund manager at Mandiri Manajemen Investasi, which manages the equivalent of $1.7 billion in assets, said in Jakarta.

"But the main issue among investors now is the timing of Fed tapering."

The MSCI developing-nation gauge has risen 7.1 per cent this quarter, heading for the steepest gain since the three months ended March 2012, after the United States' Federal Reserve refrained from cutting its stimulus.